2000px multi-image limit blocks ALL interaction, not just image reads

Description

When a conversation accumulates multiple PNG images via the Read tool (e.g., visual inspection of code-generated figures), eventually the error appears:

"An image in the conversation exceeds the dimension limit for many-image requests (2000px). Run /compact to remove old images from context, or start a new session."

This error then blocks ALL further interaction -- not just image reads, but text responses, tool calls, and even processing of user messages. The session becomes completely unresponsive to any input. The only recovery is /compact or /clear.

Expected behavior

The error should only prevent reading additional images. Text responses, non-image tool calls (Edit, Bash, Grep, etc.), and subagent launches should continue to work. The session should not become completely blocked.

Steps to reproduce

1. Open a Claude Code session (Max subscription, Opus 4.6)
2. Use the Read tool to read 10-15 PNG files (code-generated plots, typically 2000-4000px wide)
3. After accumulating enough images, attempt any action (even a text response)
4. The 2000px error blocks everything

Environment

• Claude Code v2.1.98
• Claude Max subscription
• Opus 4.6 (1M context)
• macOS
• Context usage was ~30% (not a context limit issue)

Workaround

• /compact sometimes clears the images
• /clear always works but loses all context
• Launching visual inspection in a fresh subagent (Agent tool) avoids accumulating images in the main session

Impact

For workflows that require visual inspection of generated output (e.g., verifying code-generated figures by reading PNG files), this forces either frequent /compact cycles or delegating all image reads to subagents. The blocking of ALL interaction (not just image reads) is the critical issue -- it makes the session appear frozen with no way to recover except /compact or /clear.